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VA Shows You Must See This Week: August 21 – August 27

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FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, August 25, 7 PM
Red Death, Enforced, Dead & Dreaming, Loud Night, Mutually Assured Destruction @ The Camel – $10
We here at RVA Mag have had quite a bit of discussion, both in this very column and in other places, about Enforced’s brand new LP, At The Walls, so to call it a hotly anticipated local release would certainly be more than fair. Now the official release celebration for the album has finally arrived, and rocking out at this jam-packed hardcore/punk/metal show is sure to be the perfect capper to your weekend.

DC residents and recent Century Media signees Red Death, who share members with Enforced and are preparing to release a new LP of their own, are at the top of the heap here, and while it’s Enforced’s party, these guys stand out as guests of honor on their own behalf. 2017’s Formidable Darkness LP was the first with their current four-piece lineup and finds them leaning hard into the thrashier aspects of their crossover metallic hardcore sound, bringing to mind both 80s legends like Exodus and Dark Angel as well as current rulers like Power Trip and Richmond’s own Iron Reagan. These guys are going to lay waste to the Camel, so get ready.

And you also need to be ready for Enforced, whose dark thrash-core sound is both terrifying and galvanizing, and is sure to get you hella excited for thousands of At The Walls needle-drops to come. But we hope you’re parked close by, because you’re gonna want to get that LP to the safety of your car before the set starts and the pit starts moving. With three other incredible bands on the bill, including the first local show for RVA HC all-stars Mutually Assured Destruction (it’s Ace’s new new band, and his vocals are at a whole new level), you’ll really just want to get there the second they open the doors.

Wednesday, August 21, 8 PM
God Module, Finite Automata, Absynthe Of Faith @ Fallout – $8 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
If you’ve paid attention in the goth-industrial music world of the past 20 or so years, you’re sure to recognize that Metropolis Records has brought us a lot of the best work that’s come out of that genre — from Front Line Assembly to VNV Nation, and beyond. God Module may not be one of the first names that comes to mind when you think of that label’s rich history, but they have been one of the more consistent groups on Metropolis over the past 15 years or so, moving from early dancefloor classics like “Spooky” to their recently-released 11th LP, The Unsound.

On The Unsound, Jasyn Bangert and co. continue to work magic with the combination of dark synth moods, pounding electronic beats, and sinister yet somehow inviting vocals, which has situated them right on the borderline between industrial pound and gothic atmosphere throughout their lengthy career. At Fallout tonight, they’ll be bringing the pounding beats to get your shiny black Docs stomping on the floor, even as their downbeat melodies fill your heart with passion. It may be the heart of August, but black attire is definitely recommended for this one no matter how hot and humid it is outside.

Thursday, August 22, 7 PM
Death Valley Girls, Craig Brown Band, Piranha Rama @ Gallery 5 – $12 (order tickets HERE)
I’m not sure the cliched stereotype of the “valley girl” has any cultural currency in the year 2019, but back in the early 80s when Frank Zappa (and his daughter Moon Unit) had a novelty hit called “Valley Girl” while Nic Cage starred in a movie of the same name, it definitely meant something. That stereotype of a rambunctious teenage girl who hangs out at the mall (do people even go to malls anymore?) and is always on the phone (OK, this part still rings true) is what Death Valley Girls are subverting, both in their name and in their dark yet catchy psychedelic sound.

Considering they come from LA, they’re sure to have plenty of inspiration for such a subversion. They let it loose on albums like 2018’s Darkness Rains, which channels everything from The Stooges and Jane’s Addiction to Romeo Void in its foreboding tales of West Coast excess. When Death Valley Girls hit the stage at Gallery 5, they’ll bring plenty of lysergic noise, but you’ll still have a ton of catchy pop hooks to dance to underneath it all. With accompaniment from Third Man recording artist Craig Brown, formerly of the Terrible Twos, and his band, plus Piranha Rama acting as an excellent local opener, this one’s sure to knock your socks off. That’s OK — dance barefoot.

Friday, August 23, 8 PM
Gary Clark Jr, Blackillac, Peterson Brothers @ The National – $44 in advance/$47.50 day of show (order tickets HERE)
We’ve known for a while that Gary Clark Jr. is an incredibly talented guitarist who brings a 21st century feel to the classic-rock-radio staple genre of electric blues. However, if you thought (as I did for a while) that genre was too played out for even a talented player to truly breathe new life into it, you really need to give Clark a second look this year. His third album, This Land, is fueled by the juxtaposition of his fiery chops and some real anger about the state of the world today, specifically in Trump’s racist America.

The album’s opening title track is startling in its harsh, confrontational lyrics, and hits all the harder for it. On that track and others, like “When I’m Gone” and “Don’t Wait Til Tomorrow,” Clark fuses modern R&B and hip hop sounds with his always-killer riffing and powerful, soulful vocals. It’s a sound sure to delight a wide spectrum of music lovers, and while there’s no shame in having overlooked him up to now (I did too), the time has come to give Gary Clark Jr. your attention. Do so at the National this Friday night — you won’t regret it.

Saturday, August 24, 7 PM
Psychic Graveyard, Hex Machine, Bermuda Triangles @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Things are gonna get downright weird over at Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall on Saturday when Psychic Graveyard arrive, and if I tell you that this band features former members of Arab On Radar and Chinese Stars, that might just clue you in on how weird it’s gonna get. Psychic Graveyard maintain the same sort of tenuous connection to postpunk’s experimental fringe that was present in their previous bands, but interjects a greater emphasis on programmed beats and synth-driven sounds — though it’d feel more than a little disingenuous to call their music “danceable” in any conventional sense.

What it is is noisy and bizarre, the same sort of unconventional strangeness that fans of the members’ previous bands loved so much. Therefore it’s no surprise to find them sharing this bill with fellow noise veterans Hex Machine and Bermuda Triangles, both of whom have unique sounds of their own to offer. Hex Machine’s heavy, metallic postpunk sound shines on recently-released LP Cave Painting, their first in nearly six years and a much-desired return to action from this stomping RVA trio. Meanwhile, Bermuda Triangles are carrying on with the same percussion-driven mutant space funk they’ve been dishing out for years now; their presence on this bill certainly warrants bringing your dancing shoes, even if Psychic Graveyard kinda doesn’t.

Sunday, August 25, 7 PM
Big Business, A Deer A Horse, Tel @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Big Business is back once again, and this power duo is now going on 15 years of proving that you don’t need a guitar to be heavy as hell. Bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis spent several years making up one-half of the Melvins, so their pedigree is certainly not in question, but their sixth LP, The Beast You Are, released earlier this year, shows that they can bowl you over just fine on their own. They’ll do so with aplomb when they hit Capital Ale House this Sunday for their first appearance in Richmond in over a decade (raise your hand if you also saw them last time they were here, when they opened for the Blood Brothers).

Big Business excels at ferocious riffs that continually batter your brain and compel you to furious headbangs, so it’s only appropriate that they share this bill with Brooklyn’s A Deer A Horse, who do much the same on recently-released EP Everything Rots That Is Rotten. From bombastic sludge to foreboding doom, the many moods of A Deer A Horse are all powerful, and all dark. Local sludge-doom powerhouse Tel will kick this one off with a slow-motion rumble that’ll set the whole night off onto a powerful course. Make sure you’re on board this train.

Monday, August 26, 9 PM
Bask, Manzara, Crimson Heat @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
Let’s keep the heaviness rolling straight on into the working week, shall we? With Bask coming to town from their NC mountain home, we certainly will! This metal powerhouse brings epic song structures, killer riffs, and soaring vocal prowess together to create masterful metallic beauty on their 2017 LP, Ramble Beyond, and whether you dig Led Zeppelin, Spirit Caravan, Neurosis, or Queens Of The Stone Age, you’re sure to find something to love from these talented North Carolinians when they take the Cary Street Cafe stage.

They’ll be joined there by a couple of shining examples of Richmond musical excellence. The first is Manzara, whose energetic yet spaced-out postpunk has been making a mark on the local scene for a while. If you’re not up on it, this is your perfect opportunity to get familiar. Plus, you’ll get a performance from a brand new Richmond supergroup, Crimson Heat, which features veterans from past RVA stoner warriors like Sinister Haze, Stone Woman, and Heathens. Get into this one — it’s gonna start your week off right!

Tuesday, August 27, 8 PM
Super Low, Manatree, Gnawing @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s a heavy week here in RVA, but not every show has to crush your head, right? If you’re ready to trade in the headbangs for some charming pop melodies that’ll make you smile, The Camel’s got you covered this Tuesday night, as Memphis pop artisans Super Low roll into town with some downright delightful indie pop sounds. They showed off their talents earlier this summer with the release of their self-titled debut LP, and you’ll definitely want to hear all of those excellent tunes in person when they roll through town this Tuesday night.

This show will also feature the latest incarnation of Manatree, now a trio with a stronger focus than ever on electronic textures in addition to their complex, talented indie song structures. They showed off this Radiohead-meets-Four Tet approach on the Rough Designs EP, released last spring, and it will certainly be fascinating to see them recreate these multi-layered, synth-rich tunes in a live environment. We’ll also get a performance from Gnawing, a killer local grunge-rock combo who certainly know how to bring the Dinosaur Jr and Superchunk vibes, if last year’s self-titled debut EP is any indication. And I’d say it probably is.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, August 23, 8 PM
Corrosion Of Conformity, Crowbar, Quaker City Night Hawks, Lo-Pan @ Elevation27 – $25 (order tickets HERE)
I’m sure there are a lot of old heads out there like me, for whom the name Corrosion Of Conformity summons up memories of the North Carolina band’s early days as progenitors of the crossover hardcore sound of the mid-80s. However, we’d by lying if we pretended that this band weren’t better known in 2019 for the sludgy Southern-fried metal boogie sounds they cranked out throughout the 90s and early 00s. Fans of that COC sound may have been a little bummed when the band spent several years at the beginning of this decade in their original trio lineup, focusing on their early crossover work.

However, they’re bound to be stoked that COC has reunited with vocalist Pepper Keenan to crank out another heaping helping of that powerful metal roar on 2018’s No Cross No Crown. COC will be firing on all cylinders when they bring the classic Deliverance/America’s Volume Dealer lineup to Norfolk this Friday night. They’ll be accompanied by their longtime compatriots in New Orleans’ own swamp-sludge metal heroes Crowbar, who remain at peak form after nearly 30 years as a band, as shown on 2016 LP The Serpent Only Lies. This hellacious bill is rounded out by Texas rock n’ roll groovers Quaker City Night Hawks and Norfolk’s own Lo-Pan, this is gonna be a night to remember — one full of headbangs.

Saturday, August 24, 8 PM
BRAINxTOILET, Needle, Neck Breather, Ixias, Ancient Torture Techniques, Redundant Protoplasm, Kept In Line, Cybernetic Warkrab @ RiffHouse Pub – $8
Hey speed demon — are you feeling unfulfilled by the excess of sludgy heaviness on this week’s docket? Well then you better break all speed records heading down 64 East this Saturday night, because you’ve got a show full of absolute grindcore madness waiting for you at RiffHouse Pub. I’m talking about this show, which features several different maniacal grind ensembles from around the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as quite a few homegrown VA talents to keep your head spinning with hyperspeed blastbeat mayhem.

North Carolina’s BRAINxTOILET are at the top of the bill, and their ferocious power has the same sort of grotty rage built into it that we saw from past NC grind maniacs Dead In The Dirt. DC’s Needle have a cleaner b but no less maniacal approach to their grind blitzkrieg, recalling DC-area grind legends of the past like Daybreak and early Pig Destroyer. Where locals are concerned, Tidewater grind legends Ancient Torture Techniques appear to have gone from broken up to doing occasional reunions back to full-time action, so that’s always a cause for celebration. Meanwhile, Chesapeake’s Kept In Line has brought us my favorite demo of 2019 so far, in any genre, so you definitely don’t want to miss them. Pissed-off straight edge grindcore, I love it! There are four more bands I haven’t even talked about on this bill, but I’m sure I’m pushing the limits of the attention span for all you grind freaks, so I’ll just wrap it up by saying: get thee to RiffHouse Saturday night, where all your blastbeat cravings will be satisfied.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: August 14 – August 20

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Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, August 18, 7 PM
The Mob, Serqet, Benderheads @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Classic UK punk takes many forms. Defiant yet melodic bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash are the most popular one, and made a huge imprint on the music scene for the next several decades. There’s also the rawer, angrier, melody-free political hardcore of bands like Discharge and Antisect, which led to long-running subgenres like crust and d-beat. But there’s another entire world of classic UK punk, one that is sometimes known as peace punk, or anarcho-punk, but is much harder to describe musically. It’s from that world that Somerset, England’s The Mob was born.

Associated with the loose-knit circle around anarchist punk band/label/collective Crass, The Mob were one of quite a few bands in that world who created their own original sound. Their most famous single, “No Doves Fly Here,” is almost gothic in its dirge-like gloomy sound, stretching on for nearly seven minutes and fully capturing the post-apocalyptic horror of war’s devastated aftermath. However, it’s their 1983 LP, Let The Tribe Increase, that is the peak expression of The Mob’s ominously gothic punk mood, one that connects them both to legendary 80s UK acts like Amebix and Zounds and modern Danish groups like Iceage and Lower.

The Mob disbanded in the mid-80s, but they’ve been back together in their original lineup for almost a decade now. However, this is the first time they’ve ever made it to Richmond, and you’d definitely be best advised to join with the punks who’ve been waiting to see them for the last four decades by heading to Gallery 5 this Sunday night. They’ll be joined by two Richmond punk powerhouses; their kindred spirits in postpunk crew Serqet and hardcore maniacs Benderheads. No matter how long you’ve been waiting, it’ll be worth it.

Wednesday, August 14, 9 PM
Skizophrenia, Vaaska, Under Attack, Destruct @ Mojo’s – $8-$10 donation
Japanese punk is definitely its own thing. It was born of influences carried across the oceans from the US and UK, but the effect of Japanese culture was formidable, and led to a completely different spin on hardcore punk — one that has spawned a rich cultural history over the past several decades. Skizophrenia are part of that history, and their output over the past decade and a half has made up for its relative sparseness with a fiery attack that stands as unique even within the sui generis world of Japanese punk. Which is why you should definitely make it out to Mojo’s to see them tonight.

Their raw, speedy sound manages to communicate energetic rage while not taking on any sort of heaviness or macho aggression. Instead, Skizophrenia plays a form of Japanese punk that is both melodic and fun, even as it retains the noisy, frantic elements that are so endemic to the punk rock of their native country. They’re coming through Richmond tonight in the company of Vaaska, a Texas band with whom they shared a split EP, and whose Spanish-Scandinavian crust-punk hybrid is fast and scorching in its own right. Richmond punk supergroup Under Attack and noise-core newcomers Destruct round out a bill that’s guaranteed to blow your mind.

Thursday, August 15, 9 PM
Frankie & the Witch Fingers, Weird Tears, Deli Kings @ Wonderland – $10
Frankie & the Witch Fingers sounds a lot more like a band from decades past than it does like the name of a modern band, but don’t let their throwback band name throw you off — this group has a very up-to-date take on the many genres they dip into over the course of their latest LP, ZAM, which was released back in March. Over its one-hour running time, you’ll catch everything from Blue Cheer-style proto-metal to guitar-driven acid funk to straight up rock n’ roll — all with a strong tendency toward psychedelia.

This group has had a prolific history thus far, releasing five LPs in the past seven years, and the creative energy it takes to churn out killer sounds at that kind of pace absolutely shows through in their frenetic live performances. When they hit the Wonderland stage tomorrow night, you’re going to have a lot of trouble standing still. And why would you want to? Dance the night away! You’ll also be able to enjoy the rock n’ roll sounds of Weird Tears and the psychedelic heavy-osity of Deli Kings as part of this evening, and that’s always a lovely bonus. What are you waiting for? Set the controls for Shockoe Bottom.

Friday, August 16, 8 PM
Volk, Mackenzie Roark, Toward Space @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
“Cowpunk” was a term you heard for a while in the 80s. It was applied to everyone from The Meat Puppets to Lone Justice back then, and while as a Southern girl myself I certainly got excited about this subgenre’s potential when I first heard about it, I was usually disappointed to find that the bands lumped into it were far more country than punk. 30 years later, though, Nashville’s Volk have come along to give me what I wanted from all those bands back then.

On their latest EP, Average American Band, this wild n’ crazy two-piece inverts the usual cowpunk formula and injects some of the rawest, most fire-spitting moments of the Bloodshot Records scene into a sound that’s got a lot more to do with the White Stripes and the Gun Club than anything you’d hear on an alt-country Pandora playlist. I love it, and you should too, especially if you love to get wild and crazy to the out-of-control garage rock sounds of local trio Toward Space, who are, by an amazing coincidence, also on this show! Singer/bandleader Mackenzie Roark is also on this bill, to inject just enough of that lovelorn country balladry into the evening for you honky-tonkers out there.

Saturday, August 17, 7:30 PM
Mannequin Pussy, Empath, T-Rextasy @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Damn, talk about taking things to the next level. Like a lot of Richmonders, I already liked Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy quite a bit; their frequent visits to the city over the past five years or so have seen them rise up from the basement and win the hearts of punk rockers all over town. But their latest LP, Patience, not only sees them signing to Epitaph Records but also finds them creating the strongest, most assured music of their career thus far.

On Patience, they’ve found a way to both crank up the bile-spitting punk intensity and delve into the kind of heart-wrenching melodies that make brilliant breakup songs like “Drunk II” and “Fear/+/Desire” into instant classics. It’s as if Live Through This-era Hole had collaborated with White Lung. So yeah, it’s awesome, and hearing it communicated at top volume as one of Mannequin Pussy’s incredible live performances is only gonna make the whole thing hit that much harder. They come to The Camel accompanied by upstart Philadelphia psych-punk band Empath and Brooklyn alt-poppers T-Rextasy, both of whom will up the ante on what’s already guaranteed to be an outstanding night of music. Don’t blow this one.

Sunday, August 18, 9 PM
Insect Surfers, Atomic Mosquitos, Armistead’s Army @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard to stand out in the genre of instrumental surf rock, a land where many people seem most interested in slavish imitations of the legendary greats — Dick Dale, The Ventures, maybe Man Or Astro-Man for the more modern heads. But there are still quite a few bands out there in the surf world proudly walking their own path, and the Insect Surfers are definitely one of them. Getting their start fully 40 years ago, this group loves to refer to themselves as “Planet Earth’s longest-running modern surf band,” and show off the exact sort of interstellar sensibility that motto brings to mind on their many ripping tunes.

The Insect Surfers were directly influenced by the manic instrumental surf-guitar groups of the early 60s, but they took just as much inspiration from the early days of punk rock, which was getting started all around them in their own formative years. If you listen close, you can also hear a bit of the space-faring psychedelia of trippy early 70s groups like Hawkwind and 60s spaghetti western soundtracks mixed into recent material like 2017’s Datura Moon. All of this will add up to a night of awesomeness when these guys pull into The Camel; we guarantee that their tunes will keep you dancing all night long, just like those beach-blanket babes of yore.

Monday, August 19, 9 PM
Bermuda Triangles, No Question, Lipid, Archbishop @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
There are a lot of panicked rumors going on, but have no fear — things are still going strong over at Cary Street Cafe! And there’s no better proof than this latest edition of Slimehole’s weekly “Heavy Mondays.” For starters, it’s bringing us a killer set from borderline-indescribable percussion-focused trio Bermuda Triangles, who’ve been blasting Richmond with their unique form of postpunk space-dance jazz-funk for years now. These guys create the best bizarro-boogie soundtrack happening in Richmond right now, and you won’t want to miss this opportunity to get weird with it.

Plus, they’re playing in the company of Wisconsin noisemongers No Question, who blast out some dirty, grungy rage at hyperspeed on their 2018 self-titled EP. They’re prepared to do the same thing, live and in your face, at this gig, and you should definitely come prepared to be blown away. Local punk freaks Lipid are on the bill as well, which is always enjoyable, and this show will open with the debut performance by Archbishop, the latest assemblage of maniacs from past RVA terrors like Olde Shame, The Skin, and Memory Loss. There’s nothing about this one that’s not gonna rule.

Tuesday, August 20, 9 PM
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Annabelle Chairlegs, DJ Chrissie @ Fuzzy Cactus – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Of course we were all terrified about the future of Richmond live music last year when Strange Matter closed, but as has long been said, crisis creates opportunity, and as this city has warmed up over the course of 2019, we’ve seen more and more live music venues popping up all over! Fuzzy Cactus is the latest example, coming to Brookland Park Boulevard this weekend with some delicious fried chicken and a stage that’ll be full of rock n’ roll sounds on a weekly basis.

The first big show they’re bringing in takes place only a few days after they open up, as Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears pull into town. This Texas ensemble is based around the wild vocals and raging guitars of frontman Lewis, who’s sure to remind you of both Little Richard and James Brown. But it’s the extended ensemble he tours with, complete with horn section, that makes his performances hit so hard — somewhere between BB King and King Khan & the Shrines. They’ll christen the stage of the Fuzzy Cactus in outstanding fashion, and kick off the Brookland Park reign of what’s sure to be yet another great live music venue for Richmond to cherish.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Wednesday, August 14, 5:30 PM
Knotfest Roadshow, feat. Slipknot, Gojira, Volbeat, Behemoth @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater (Virginia Beach) – $41-$250 (order tickets HERE)
Maybe this is just me, but I gotta tell y’all — I find it really hard to feel anything other than love for Slipknot. This crew of Iowa metal misfits with as many members as your average brass band blew everyone’s mind when they showed up in the late 90s with their crazy masks, abundance of percussion, and overflowing amounts of adolescent fury. From there, they just got heavier, shaking off their early nu-metal tinges in favor of brutal, anthemic breakdowns and even the occasional blastbeat. Since losing founding bassist Paul Gray back in 2010, they’ve struggled a bit, ultimately firing a couple of other longtime members in pursuit of the return to fighting form that is this year’s We Are Not Your Kind.

It’s that album they’re celebrating with this summer’s Knotfest Roadshow, and they’ll be bringing their patented brand of masked insanity to the Veterans United stage in VA Beach as part of that. Expect headbangs aplenty as they break out classics like “Disasterpiece,” “Spit It Out,” and “Duality” alongside some excellent tuneage from their new LP. Plus, they’ve got a murderer’s row of metallic excellence along as support, including French death-metallers Gojira, bizarre Danish metalbilly group Volbeat, and legendary Polish thrashers Behemoth. This one will be an absolute feast for anyone who loves metal — and trust me, once they hit the stage, Slipknot’s antics are sure to command your undivided attention.

Saturday, August 17, 5 PM
Suburban Living, Ladada, The Evening Attraction @ Smartmouth Brewing – Free!
Philadelphia indie-gaze crew Suburban Living had a pretty strong buzz a few years ago, but they’ve largely been quite on the release front for the past few years, so it’s a relief to see them rolling through the Commonwealth once again! This Saturday night finds them topping the bill at Smartmouth Brewing’s Norfolk warehouse, which has been throwing a series of free early-evening shows over the past several months. This summer-ending rocker is the last one on the schedule that we know of, so if you haven’t gone and checked the place out, now’s the time!

And of course it will be great to hear the sounds of Suburban Living, whose dreampop deliciousness was showed off to perfect effect on 2016’s Almost Paradise. Will they have some newer material to show off? Well, one never knows — but it’s certainly something to keep an eye out for. The same is true of the support set by Norfolk’s own Ladada, who’ve been at the top of the heap where Tidewater indie is concerned for a while now. And as a bonus, you’ll get a set from Chicago rock n’ rollers The Evening Attraction to kick things off with a bang. This is going to be a blast — gas up the whip.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Top Photo by Beau Patrick Coulon, via Facebook

VA Shows You Must See This Week: March 20 – March 26

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Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Wednesday, March 20, 8 PM
Noisem (Photo by Andrew Hartl), No/Mas, Murdersome, MSD @ McCormack’s – $10
It’s apparently the month for mid-week metal — this is two weeks in a row that the most unmissable show of the week is happening only a few short hours after this column gets posted. Hey, I’m not complaining, especially if Wednesday will keep bringing us the absolute (head)bangers we’ve seen for the past couple of weeks. This time around, it’s the return of youthful Baltimore headbangers Noisem, who are rolling into Shockoe Bottom to devastate Richmond’s most flood-prone streets.

It’s been a while since Noisem had a massive amount of hype as teen thrash sensations, and you might have thought (as I had) that they broke up a few years ago. As it turns out, the truth is a bit more complicated. After 2015’s Blossoming Decay, an internal schism fractured the band’s lineup, and three of the five members left. Guitarist Sebastian Phillips and his drumming brother Harley were undaunted, quickly recruiting new singer-bassist Ben Anft and carrying on as a trio. But their label was decidedly daunted, and quickly dropped them.

Four years later, Noisem have returned with a new label and a brand new album, Cease To Exist. Ben Anft’s vocals replace the hardcore bark of original vocalist Tyler Carnes with a harsh, Carcass-style roar (which I honestly might like better), but otherwise, this is the same headbang-inspiring death-thrash awesomeness you’ve always gotten from Noisem, and it is a welcome return indeed from a band whose members are all now old enough to order a beer before the set at McCormack’s tonight. Expect serious brutality, just like you got from them in years past, as well as some ripping thrash rage from DC’s own No/Mas and local stalwarts Murdersome and MSD. This one is gonna rule.

Wednesday, March 20, 6 PM
The Goddamn Gallows, Scott H. Biram, Urban Pioneers, Channel 43 @ The Camel – $20 (order tickets HERE)
The borders between genres are always intriguing, and one that seems to have excited a lot of people’s imaginations over the past couple of decades is the thin line between punk rock and old-time bluegrass. That might not seem such an easily permeated dividing line, but considering that both genres have a tradition of working-class musicians building their sound from outsider traditions and roots within isolated, tight-knit communities, I suppose it makes sense that there’s quite a bit of crossover.

The Goddamn Gallows are one of the bands exploring that musical borderland; they’ve been doing so for over a decade now, and on their latest LP, The Trial, they manage to move between old-time waltzes that foreground folk instruments like banjo and accordion, and darker moments that use distortion and harsh vocals to accentuate the heaviness. And crazily enough, it all works incredibly well — something you can get an up-close-and-personal view of tonight at The Camel, when The Goddamn Gallows pull into town at the head of a touring caravan that also features one-man outlaw-country band Scott H. Biram and energetic Western swing combo Urban Pioneers. Multi-decade Richmond melodic punk vets Channel 43 kick things off to let us know they’re still going strong.

Thursday, March 21, 8 PM
The Listening Sessions, feat. Space Koi, Sanji The Hedgehog, Awkward Shaman, Dogfuck, Distant Dee, MC Correct @ Addis Ethiopian Lounge – $7
As I’ve said in this column many times, Richmond hip hop is a many-splendored thing, and it can be all but impossible to keep up with it all. Therefore I’m not all that surprised that I wasn’t aware until recently of everything Secret Bonus Level has been up to. This crew of local rappers and producers makes it their mission to include the LGBTQ community in everything they do, with the hopes of eventually helping to normalize the idea of queer and trans participants in the world of hip hop. As a rap-loving trans woman, I can definitely get behind that.

Their show this Thursday finds the Secret Bonus Level crew sharing the stage with Space Koi, a Richmond group whose reggae-rooted sound incorporates surf, punk, and psychedelic sounds. The result is several cuts above the typical reggae-rock hybrids we all hear way too much of on modern rock radio — and thank god for that, am I right? They’ll join the Secret Bonus Level crew in its entirety: the trippy rhymes of Sanji The Hedgehog, the wavy melodies of Awkward Shaman, the stoned mumblings of memorably named rapper Dogfuck, and more. The sounds at this show might very well be weird, but the environment is always welcoming, so come down to Addis Ethiopian and check it out — you might just find your new favorite Richmond MC.

Friday, March 22, 9 PM
Appalling, Mo’ynoq, Hoboknife @ Wonderland – $5
Richmond’s extreme metal scene is as alive and well as ever, and more than ever, Shockoe Bottom is the place to learn all about it. Especially with Strange Matter gone, it seems these days the serious thrashers are gonna have to ride their bikes down a really long hill to get the raging riffs they crave. Take heart, carless metalheads — this Friday night, Wonderland has the kind of heaping helping of headbanging that makes the long ride back up the hills of East Main Street totally worth it. Local black metal crew Appalling will be releasing their second full-length at Wonderland on the Friday night in question, and the celebration is sure to be off the chain. They’ve recently been out on the road with Richmond death metal vets Deathcrown, and now Inverted Realm is here to take us all to the next level of epic destruction.

If you love the claustrophobic terror sound of classic Scandinavian black metal masters — think Emperor or Marduk — and you still haven’t checked Appalling out, you need to fix that with the quickness and get to Wonderland on Friday night. They’re sure to tickle your fancy, right before they punch it in the throat. Appalling are joined on this powerhouse bill by fellow black metallers Mo’ynoq. If you saw the name and thought of a certain comedian for a second, well, you’re not alone, but rest assured these guys bring the heavy in a decidedly Immortal-ish fashion. Perennially reliable local stalwarts Hoboknife kick this one off with some dark fury. Get there — even if you’ve gotta walk home.

Saturday, March 23, 9 PM
Microwaves, Multicult, Bermuda Triangles @ Wonderland – $10
Those who are paying attention are sure to know that there’s already a Mikrowaves from Richmond — but as you can see, they spell their name with a K. The Microwaves (with a C) coming to Wonderland Saturday night are a decidedly different proposition. This trio from Pittsburgh, who just released their sixth album, Via Weightlessness, on San Diego noise-core label Three One G, are every bit as hectic as their label affiliation might lead you to expect.

Where their distorted guitar sound and usage of effects that might even make you think there’s a keyboard involved (there isn’t) is likely to remind you of way-out freaks like Orthrelm and Lightning Bolt, there’s a decidedly more song-based structure to Microwaves’ music, which results in the sort of sound that should appeal to fans of decidedly rockin’ noise like that of Arab On Radar or the Melvins, even as its speed and chaos should certainly connect with those who love the early works of the legendary Hella. Microwaves are hitting town with Baltimore noise-rockers Multicult, who conjure some obvious Jesus Lizard comparisons on 2016 LP Position Remote — a slab of pure freakout fun, if you ask me. Local percussion-obsessed weirdos Bermuda Triangles will kick this night off in proper fashion, so roll on down to Wonderland Saturday night prepared to flip out. Rest assured, it’s gonna happen.

Sunday, March 24, 10 PM
Grouser, Grass Panther @ Bandito’s – Free!
Sometimes I put shows into my show column because I’m already intimately familiar with the bands playing. But other times, I am more curious than anything else. This is one of those latter times, and I must say, my curiosity feels likely enough to be rewarded that I think all of you should join me in my quest for satisfaction. Hey, it’s a free show at Bandito’s — if nothing else, you’ll be able to say you got some delicious nachos while you were there. But so anyway — about Grouser. I don’t know this trio’s true identities, but I find it fascinating that they apparently contain members not only of long-running local stoner-metal heavyweights RPG but also of “only true fortysomething Richmonders will know” 90s alt-rockers Jettison Charlie.

I find it even more fascinating that, out of nowhere, they have an outstanding 2018 LP, Harmonic Freight Train, up on Bandcamp. The 13 songs contained on this record have the same sort of noisy post-hardcore energy and subtle melodic grasp that distinguished 90s Richmond legends Kepone, as well as classic 90s Dischord alums like Bluetip. I’m a sucker for records like this; I’m only sorry I didn’t discover it last summer when it came out. Based on these tunes, no matter who is actually in this band, the live show is bound to be essential. The fact that they’re joined on this bill by Manzara affiliates Grass Panther only makes this even more unmissable. And it’s free? What more do you want?

Monday, March 25, 7 PM
Calling All Captains, Diet Blood, Dead Format @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $10 (Order tickets HERE)
Damn, speaking of sounds I’m a sucker for… Calling All Captains roll into Richmond this Monday night, and I for one can’t wait. These Canadians just joined up with Equal Vision Records, which released their EP Nothing Grows Here last month, and now they’re on tour bringing their sound to the world. Rest assured, if you, like me, are way into recent melodic, emotional pop-punk superstars like State Champs, Knuckle Puck, and The Story So Far, you’ll find a lot to enjoy in Calling All Captains.

Don’t get me wrong, though, they aren’t just a retread of other bands you’ve liked in the past — Canada’s a big country, and this quintet is from Edmonton, Alberta, a city located solidly in Canada’s midwest. Therefore it’s no surprise to find a decided heartland tinge to Calling All Captains’ melodic punk sound, as if they’ve spent a fair amount of time with the Braid and Get Up Kids discographies. That’s certainly never a bad thing. They’ll be joined on this bill by a Richmond band who also feature a melodic punk sound as well as a decidedly unusual name: Diet Blood. What is that about? Is this a band of vampires? Bring some garlic with you to Capital Ale House for this one. Local pop-punk newcomers Dead Format will get this one started off in fine fashion. Get stoked, y’all.

Tuesday, March 26, 10 PM
New Lions, Serqet, Continuation @ Don’t Look Back/Triple – Free!
Not every show has to be a huge event, you know? Sometimes it’s just nice to hang with some friends and enjoy some great tunes. You’ll definitely have the opportunity to do that at Don’t Look Back on Tuesday night, for a free show at the mythical former location of The Triple (where those of us who’ve been around a while saw some pretty cool shows back in the day).

This night will not only give us a chance to rejoice once again at the return of Don’t Look Back and its amazing tacos (show up early and get your fill before the rock starts). It’ll also bring us another opportunity to enjoy the reincarnated and rejuvenated New Lions before their new EP comes out later this year. Plus we’ll get a set from cerebral goth-punks Serqet to enliven all of our minds. Newborn duo Continuation, which features members of Dommengang and The Catalyst, will grace us all with some delightful psychedelic sounds to start the evening off. Let’s all partake and enjoy, shall we?

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Thursday, March 21, 6 PM
Sick Of It All, Iron Reagan, Flatline @ Peabody’s – $20 in advance/$22 at the door (Order tickets HERE)
There’s punk. There’s hardcore. And then there’s New York hardcore. NYHC, as the kids say. Even as it is clearly a big part of hardcore as a whole, NYHC is kind of its own thing, a heavier, tougher form of hardcore that takes obvious influence from the street-level struggles of its early progenitors, who had to fight to survive on the mean streets of New York City in the 80s — long before Manhattan became a glass-skyscraper landscape that mostly acts as a playground for the rich. And Sick Of It All is one of a very few NYHC bands who both helped craft the sound at the very start and is still going strong today.

They just released their 12th album, Wake The Sleeping Dragon!, last year, and if you heard it, you know Sick Of It All are every bit as angry, tough, and talented as they always have been. This show is sure to bring us the best of their new shit along with a heaping helping of classics that we all know and love — “It’s Clobbering Time,” “Step Down,” “Injustice System,” you know the ones. The fact that SOIA are sharing this bill –one that sees them returning to VA Beach’s Peabody’s for the first time in nearly two decades — with Richmond crossover maniacs Iron Reagan only further emphasizes the fact that this is gonna be a show for the ages. Get the Doc Martens shined up and get ready to break out the GI Joe Headstomp for this one.

Monday, March 25, 8 PM
Failure, Swervedriver, Criminal Hygiene @ Elevation27 – $25 in advance/$30 day of show (Order tickets HERE)
This show would be big news even if only one of the two headliners were coming through. The fact that both of them are here to blow our minds just makes this a tour beyond all wildest dreams. California space-rockers Failure fell apart in the late 90s, but they left behind multiple classic albums, which garnered them an ever-growing cult following that rejoiced when the trio returned to action in 2015. Since then, they’ve made two more albums, releasing the excellently titled In The Future Your Body Will Be The Furthest Thing From Your Mind late last fall.

UK quartet Swervedriver had a similar career path to that of Failure, and though soundwise they are less Nirvana-meets-Pink Floyd and more Neil Young-meets-My Bloody Valentine, the two groups have a lot in common musically as well as historically. Swervedriver, who broke up in 1999, reformed in 2008, and have themselves released two albums since reuniting. The most recent, Future Ruins, was released earlier this year; like the latest Failure album, it shows that this group is still as much at the top of their game as they ever have been. Getting to see both of these bands on the same night will be a true treat. Make sure you’re there to experience it.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 1/17-1/23

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, January 19 & Saturday January 20, 7 PM both days
Be Bad Weekend @ Strange Matter
Day 1: Doll Baby, Kenneka Cook, VV, Listless, Wabeya, Magnus Lush, Madison Turner, Talk Me Off, Ice Cream Support Group DJs – $10
Day 2: Haircut, Serqet, Gumming, Dazeases, Locker Room, Liu Light, Itsy Bitsy, Butt, DJ Dogpants – $10
It’s January once again, and as I have been doing for several years now, I am pleased to give the Be Bad Weekend the top spot in this column. Once just a one-night showcase of bands featuring female members entitled Bad Girls Revue, expanded last year to multiple nights, and got better than ever in the process! This year, it seems the event will miss the annual explosion of bad weather that has caused last-minute reschedules in the past, thank goodness. So not only will attendees get the benefit of every band initially scheduled actually being able to play, but Girls Rock RVA will get the benefit of everyone being able to make it out to Strange Matter for both nights of this amazing shindig.

And if you’re not there this weekend, you really are gonna need a good excuse. The lineup this year is more musically diverse than ever, as the headlining slots on night one pair punky indie rock n’ rollers Doll Baby with soulful, jazzy vocalist extraordinaire Kenneka Cook. Meanwhile, night two finds ferocious C-ville/RVA hardcore punkers Haircut and moody, atmospheric punks Serqet heading things up. But that’s just the beginning; with 16 total bands performing over the course of two nights, a wide variety of music will be on display.

In fact, you’re going to want to make sure you’re on time, because some of the best performers are hitting the stage soon after doors open. Excellent post-hardcore rockers Magnus Lush are playing surprisingly early on night one, while night two begins with a set from the much buzzed-about local punk upstarts Butt (who, I assure you, have more to offer than a memorably amusing name). No matter what sort of sounds appeal to you, chances are you’ll find multiple things to enjoy on both nights. Hell, you might even see me onstage at some point, if you know where to look. Even if that weren’t true, though, I’d still be telling you to go to this. An outstanding Richmond tradition that’s for a good cause, Be Bad Weekend is one of the most essential live music events of the year. Don’t sleep on it.

Wednesday, January 17, 9 PM
Wyldlife, Sick Bags, Cruzer @ Flora – $7
This is going to be a ton of fun. Wyldlife, who come to RVA on tour from NYC, are the sort of band that take genres that have seemed played-out for years and inject fun, energy, and life back into them, reminding you why you loved them in the first place. In this case, we’re talking about straight-up old-school punk rock; Wyldlife come at the sound with an energy and power that bring to mind powerful pioneers like The Damned and The Dead Boys, but with a stronger melodic sense that’s reminiscent of the best power-pop–think first-LP Cheap Trick. There’s even some garage-rock swagger in there for all you Murder City Devils fans waiting to be rocked once again.

Wyldlife’s most recent release, Out On The Block, has been out for just under a year, but if you haven’t caught onto it yet, you’re certainly not too late. Meanwhile, you’re just in time to catch the debut vinyl from local trash(ed)-punk crew Sick Bags, whose “Cigarette Spit” single is officially out on Friday but will certainly be available from the band tonight, at least if this show’s flyer is any indication. The bill is rounded out by a brand new Richmond band called Cruzer, who appear to have a jangly garage sort of sound, based on the incredibly lo-fi one-song demo that’s been posted on their bandcamp. If that guess is in any way accurate, this show will be a total banger from beginning to end, so sweep off the car and head out to Strange Matter tonight!

Thursday, January 18, 7:30 PM
Secret Bonus Level presents Alfred, PT Burnem, Zhé Aqueen, Vos, Sanji the Hedgehog, Secret Bonus Band @ Strange Matter – $8
I love it when a random show on a weeknight reveals an entire local subculture that I’ve previously failed to pick up on. There’s nothing better than finding a ton of new shit to check out. In this case, it’s the Secret Bonus Level radio show, which airs on WRIR in the middle of the night on Wednesdays (or early Thursday mornings, depending on how you look at it). This show takes an exploratory approach to hip hop, seeking out what they call “strange and unusual gems,” and putting it before whoever is up that late in the middle of the week. And now they’re taking that same approach to filling a stage for a weeknight gig over at Strange Matter.

This show is headed up by Alfred, an openly queer local rapper with a unique approach to his atmospheric music and spacey lyrical flows. His songs are hypnotic and catchy, but in an unusual way–they kind of sneak up on you. Meanwhile, PT Burnem is often as subtle as an atom bomb, hitting hard with his pounding beats and confrontational, politically informed flows. Zhé Aqueen goes in a totally different direction with jazzy, soulful singing, just to keep anyone from thinking things will get predictable. And all sorts of other amazing things are scheduled for this bill as well, from appearances by current and former Secret Bonus Level hosts to an open-invite cypher over backing music provided by a trio of live musicians. All of this is the result of Secret Bonus Level’s commitment to honoring hip hop’s creative spirit with an approach that’s entirely their own. How can you resist that?

Friday, January 19, 8 PM
Ruth Good, Recluse Raccoon, Slow Clover, CGI Jesus @ Gallery 5 – $6
The city never sleeps–Citrus City, that is. 2017 saw the label cranking out releases with the kind of dedication that one would normally expect from a much bigger operation, working with everyone from local faves like Antiphons and Keep to out-of-town cult faves like Vundabar and Crumb. One of the many releases that saw the light of day over the course of the past 12 months was Ruth Good’s debut EP, Spliff. That EP had exactly the sort of stoned-immaculate sound you might expect from something with that name, though its funky indie sound still had a great deal in common with the usual slack, jangly guitar-rock that comes out of Citrus City headquarters. Considering that one of the two main members of Ruth Good, Wes Parker, also plays in Citrus City leading lights Camp Howard, that can’t be much of a surprise.

Ruth Good hitting Gallery 5 at the top of this CC-curated bill is nothing but good news for fans of the band and the label. And of course, it’s also lovely to see Recluse Raccoon bringing their mellow, melodic sound to the stage as well. These guys tend to take it pretty easy; after all, their last EP came out back in 2015. But they’ve always got some sounds with which to delight our ears, and this night at Gallery 5 promises to be no exception. Harrisonburg’s Slow Clover will bring us some jazzy, progressive rock sounds that are sure to please the plentiful Night Idea fans in the audience, while CGI Jesus will kick things off with some jazzy, mathy metal to delight all the fans of Dumb Waiter, or even the Alter Natives, who make it out. This one’s gonna be lovely.

Saturday, January 20, 6 PM
Deau Eyes Kickstarter Launch Party, feat. Deau Eyes, McKinley Dixon & Friends, Whatever Honey, Trunk Show Band, Lucky Duckiss @ TheatreLAB/The Basement – Donations accepted
To be completely real with y’all, I stopped thinking that Kickstarters were worth writing about something like five years ago. The fact that this crowdfunding model quickly became the way people did everything from putting out albums to paying medical bills certainly doesn’t say anything nice about the current state of our culture. But crowdfunding efforts have led to some very nice things (including my wedding–I promise I’ll mail out the zines and CDs to everyone who contributed soon!). And the fact that Ali Thibodeau’s Deau Eyes is not only doing a Kickstarter to release their first album but kicking off the campaign with an actual launch party is enough to make me think that the album they’re working on will be another very nice crowdfunded thing.

Now, you’d be forgiven for not knowing Deau Eyes’ music. While Ali and co. have been playing a decent amount of local shows lately, there aren’t any recordings out there online–at this point, the best way to get an idea of their music is by listening to the soundtrack on their Kickstarter video pitch. It sounds pretty great, with a spunky, upbeat approach to melodic rock n’ roll that should appeal to those out there who enjoy Speedy Ortiz and other 90s-style alt-rock types. She’s got some pretty cool friends, too, including McKinley Dixon, who’s playing the Kickstarter launch party (at TheatreLAB’s The Basement of all places–I don’t remember there being live music there ever before…). Whatever Honey and the Trunk Show Band are also on the bill, as well as someone named “Lucky Duckiss.” Hmm. Those of us who didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday can probably interpret that one accurately. The best part about this whole show is that your admission price constitutes a donation to the Kickstarter campaign; therefore, one would think that by paying 10 bucks to get in, you’d not only get to see this rad show but also get a digital download of the Deau Eyes album when it’s done. That’s what I call a deal.

Sunday, January 21, 9 PM
Rex Richardson Quintet feat. JC Kuhl, Trey Pollard, Randall Pharr, Brian Jones @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
There’s a lot going on in the jazz genre, and as someone who spends a lot of her time focusing on things like punk, metal, and emo, I don’t always have the ability to keep up with jazz as much as I want. Therefore, I imagine the jazz heads around here are shaking their heads in dismay that I’m this late at getting on the Rex Richardson train. I feel you, jazz heads, I feel you. This guy is obviously a big deal. A trumpeter who is sponsored by Yamaha and has been a prominent representative for VCU’s music department for nearly two decades, Richardson has done quite a lot in his career thus far. His achievements both as a classical soloist and a jazz bandleader are lengthier and more impressive than I could even attempt to cram into this space.

But what we should discuss is the fact that he released a collaborative album entitled Blue Shift in 2014 with saxophonist Steve Wilson. That album has a strong, swinging sound that hits hard and makes me think of prime Miles Davis and John Coltrane albums. The rhythm section that backed Richardson and Wilson on that album is the same one that fills out Richardson’s quintet for this performance, including Spacebomb arrangement guru Trey Pollard on piano. Filling in for the absent Wilson is JC Kuhl, formerly of local funk band Agents Of Good Roots, who along with drummer Brian Jones has also played with legendary avant-garde outsider musician Jandek. These are some seasoned pros at the top of their game, and with a master like Richardson at the helm, this night is sure to bring you some top-quality jazz sounds.

Monday, January 22, 8 PM
Deerhoof, Bermuda Triangles, Tavishi, COQ @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Let’s get weird. Deerhoof, noted veteran rangers of the bizarre fringes of the indie world, return to Richmond once again with the latest dose of their alternate-universe rock n’ roll. Latest album Mountain Moves, released last fall, has a strange sort of 70s soft rock vibe lurking beneath all the weird song structures and noisy guitars. It sort of reminds me of where Blonde Redhead went later in their career, when the melodies suddenly rose to the surface and changed the way one heard their music. Covers of The Staple Singers and Bob Marley show that the group’s response to the rise of Trumpism has not been one of avoidance, while the album’s extensive list of guest stars shows that they believe in working together to make things better.

Now Deerhoof is coming to RVA with a big dose of inspiration for us all. They’ll find RVA 100% prepared to meet that challenge, as they’re joined on this bill by Bermuda Triangles. Once a more conventional noise-rock sort of band, last year’s Haunted Island EP shows them slimming down to a trio and taking their percussion focus into outer space, while still remaining an incredibly funky, fun, danceable band. Tavishi’s experimental noise, meanwhile, is an intense, overwhelming experience, with a strong political viewpoint and an uncompromising approach. COQ will open the show with some strange sounds that are sure to touch a nerve for fans of the No Wave scene of the early 80s. Think of the Bush Tetras or DNA and you’re halfway there. Now go the rest of the way down to Strange Matter and see this show.

Tuesday, January 23, 7 PM
.gif From God, Cursing Method, Van Hagar, Listless, Jafar Flowers, Cell Saga @ Soft Web – $5
I’ve been seeing .gif From God play since their earliest basement blasts of metal noise hysteria and while they’ve been amazing from the jump, they only seem to get better as time goes on. Last year’s split EP with Vein saw them taking things to a higher level with longer, more complex songs, but they retained their edge. They’ve continued to incorporate the best elements of metalcore, screamo, spastic grind a la the Locust, and outright horrible noise into a potpourri of entertaining, energetic sounds that are always delivered with maximum hyperactive intensity.

Basically what I’m saying here is that it’s never a good idea to miss a .gif From God set. And there are plenty of other good reasons to catch this mid-week throwdown at Soft Web, the foremost among them being an appearance by South Carolinian grind maniacs Cursing Method, who take a feedback-destruction approach to their crunchy riffs and blasting drum attack. And then, of course, there are the many powerful locals, from rage-filled power-violence heroes Van Hagar to dark, moody hardcore ragers Listless. The evening’s dead spaces will be filled in with DJ sets from Ice Cream Socialites Jafar Flowers and Cell Saga, so you won’t ever have to wait for the killer sounds to start back up. What could be better?

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers–this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [yes, my email is through GayRVA, don’t get weird about it]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 8/16-8/22

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, August 18, 8 PM
Bad Magic, Big Huge, Candy Spots, Kid Claws @ Strange Matter – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Jet Trails Music is becoming a more powerful force in the local live music community by the week, and I for one am here for it! There are a whole bunch of booking agencies in this town who have a solid reputation in their respective genres, but JTM is straddling the line between indie and more jammed-out alt-rock with aplomb. I find that any show they do is generally a solid night out, and this rad Friday night lineup at Strange Matter is no exception. It came together pretty recently, at least if the release of the facebook event page is any indication, but I’m glad they were able to get this happening, and especially at Strange Matter, who’ve been the most consistent spot for rad live music here in RVA for a good decade at least.

Bad Magic comes back home to us after a short jaunt up the East Coast, taking their excellent sounds to the world. They’re still going strong from the power of their most recent release, Harsh Surrender, which came out on cassette from Trrrrash Records earlier this year. That’s a logical pairing, considering Trrrrash (I probably always put the wrong amount of R’s in this name) is owned by Bad Magic bassist Tim Falen. It’s frontwoman Julie Karr that provides the fuel making this band’s sound so distinctive and memorable, though. Her lyrics dig deep into tough times and hard feelings, which pair well with the group’s rumbling grunge jangle. The fact that a song on Harsh Surrender borrows lyrics from a Jason Molina song only further underlines the emotional territory this band is staking out.

Bad Magic definitely have a haunting effect on the listener, but NYC band Big Huge has a totally different feel, albeit one that sticks just as hard. Their tough, sassy power pop is full of catchy choruses and upbeat rhythms to get you dancing around with a big grin on your face. Bad Magic may be hometown heroes, but Big Huge is the best new discovery you’ll make at this show, for sure. The lineup this night is rounded out by two psych powerhouses from right here in VA; the relatively new Kid Claws, who hail from the DC suburbs and like to get hazy with the distortion but still now how to rock, and local up and comers The Candy Spots, who have a bit more of a garage-y vibe and can definitely get your feet moving.

Wednesday, August 16, 9 PM
Decide Today, Prison Religion, R-Complex, With Sympathy @ Comm Room – $5 donation requested
My roommates have a poster for this band on the wall outside my room; it looks down on me every time I walk back from the bathroom. Its distinctive art and intense political agitprop made me curious about the band before I had any idea who they were. Now they’re coming to town and living up to all of my expectations. Honestly, when you live in a punk house, you tend to expect all the bands on your roommates’ posters to sound pretty similar. Rather than dishing out the sort of crusty, metallic punk that is the usual punkhouse poster fare, though, Decide Today devote their energies towards harsh programmed breakcore beats of the sort that got Atari Teenage Riot so much attention back in the late 90s. “Digital hardcore” was an appropriate genre hybrid for that band in their prime, and it’s also a really great way to describe what Decide Today are doing. And with songs like “Against White Supremacy,” “I Don’t Eat Flesh,” and “Strong Hearts Can’t Be Caged,” it’s clear this band has a purpose and a mission, and isn’t afraid to scream about it.

Local experimental hip hop project Prison Religion makes an excellent pairing with Decide Today, so it’s great to see them on this bill. The typical comparison points for hip hop groups making really harsh, noisy music tend to be B L A C K I E, or Death Grips, but Prison Religion have a significantly stranger and more intense sound than either of those projects. Expect powerful beats at the root of their music, but overtop of those beats, harsh screams and strange atonal noise are much more likely to appear than the funk-descended grooves and powerfully delivered raps you might expect from a hip hop group. It’s always nice to hear people doing something new with the form, though, especially when it’s this intense and politically informed. The evening’s program will be rounded out by industrial-noise project R-Complex and the more gothic industrial sounds of With Sympathy. Bring your earplugs for this one.

Thursday, August 17, 8 PM
Ex Eye, Bermuda Triangles, Dumb Waiter @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Getting this event invitation was my first introduction to Ex Eye, and boy did I feel stupid for not having picked up on them before. Any project that brings together avant-garde saxophonist Colin Stetson, whose 2013 LP New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light was one of my favorites of that year, and drummer Greg Fox, whose work in the brilliant New York black metal group Liturgy has consistently blown me away, is something I should’ve been up on way before now. So hey, if these guys were on your radar before they were on mine, consider me duly embarrassed. For the rest of you, let’s cop a latepass together and head down to Strange Matter to experience the full force of this combo’s incredible talent.

In addition to Stetson and Fox, Ex Eye includes Chicago experimental guitarist Toby Summerfield and former Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog keyboardist Shahzad Ismaily, so the lineup is truly stacked. And the results they come up with are phenomenal on their self-titled debut, released a couple months ago on Relapse. Stetson’s incredible sax work takes center stage, but the outstanding drumming Fox showed off in Liturgy is very much present–complete with the occasional much-vaunted “burst beat”–and the riffs laid down by the band underneath all the dramatic instrumental fireworks are rock-solid fuel for full-on headbangs. With percussion-driven experimental postpunk veterans Bermuda Triangles and avant-jazz/metal instrumental quartet Dumb Waiter opening this evening up, it looks like this will be a night full of consistently mindblowing sound. Get ready.

Friday, August 18, 8 PM
Venomspitter, Charmer, Accident Prone, High Priest, Van Hagar @ Comm Room – $5 donation requested
Sometimes a show doesn’t have to be a big huge important deal. Sometimes it’s just a good opportunity to hang out with your friends and rock out. In that spirit, Venomspitter singer Travis Downey is throwing a big ol’ rockin’ party over at Comm Room this Friday night to celebrate his birthday. Thankfully, his friends all seem to be in rad bands, just like he is. That’s always nice! Of course, anyone who has a band wants their band to play their birthday show (that’s sure how it always was with me), so you can expect a powerful set from Venomspitter on this evening. They’ve had some lineup shakeups over the last little while–Travis actually used to play guitar in the band, for one thing–but they’re still as hard-hitting and full of intense hardcore fury as ever, so don’t expect them to be mellowing or anything.

Along with Venomspitter, you can also expect a full-speed-ahead set from Charmer, who manage to both be hyperspeed power-violence and heavy-as-fuck hardcore, as they demonstrate on the recent preview of their soon-to-be-released split with Amara. These guys are gonna rip your face off at a thousand miles an hour and it’ll be the best road rash you’ve ever had in your life. High Priest are coming from much the same place as the previous two bands we’ve discussed, but with maybe a bit more A389-style D-beat crust in the mix. Accident Prone have some of that chaotic tech-blast metalcore thing going on that seems to have faded from the picture since Dillinger Escape Plan got all proggy–it’s nice to run into some pure exponents of that sick shit for a change. And of course, my lovely roommates in Van Hagar will be there to deliver you some furious grindcore that has no resemblance to 5150 (which is still an awesome album, don’t get me wrong). The show is a benefit for Sophie House, providing support to single mothers with young children, so in lieu of cash, donations of food and clothing will also be accepted. Come help out, then rock out!

Saturday, August 19, 7 PM
Big Mama Shakes, Landon Elliott, Tigerman WOAH, Sid Kinglsey @ The Broadberry – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I will freely admit that I’m not the typical audience for an indie-inflected 21st century version of a Southern rock band. Therefore, it’s probably no surprise that I haven’t made it to a Big Mama Shakes show just yet. At the same time, every time I check this band out online, I find myself thinking that I should go ahead and take the plunge at some point. There’s no denying it–this band is a lot of fun. They’ve got some kickass catchy tunes that owe a good deal more to Exile-era Rolling Stones via Uncle Tupelo than they do to the Southern stuff from the 70s that kinda makes me cringe sometimes (although the truth is Drive-By Truckers have largely managed to rehabilitate even that full-on Skynyrd sound for me… but I digress).

Last year’s If I Try EP in particular grabs my attention. Uptempo rocker “Weight Of A Heavy Heart” definitely does it for me as a rather heavy-hearted girl myself. “Magnolia”‘s lovelorn midtempo sound, complete with horn accents, is evocative of moments we’ve all been through on late nights with too few people around. Big Mama Shakes have become a reliable crowd-drawer at the Broadberry in recent months, so too few people around is definitely not a worry you’ll have if you come check them out this Saturday night. Neither is hearing a bad song, because from what I can tell, this band doesn’t have any. And as an avowed metalhead, that’s saying something coming from me.

Sunday, August 20, 3 PM
Vvuumm, HeadlessMantis, Recluse Raccoon, Paul Ivey @ Hardywood – Free!
Get to Hardywood early this Sunday afternoon if you wanna catch some of the best rockin’ sounds this city’ll be witness to this weekend. Because let me tell ya, this whole event is gonna be wrapping up by about 6 PM, and you don’t want to miss a minute of it. Our co-headliners, vvuumm and HeadlessMantis, are celebrating the release of their new split tape, TRRRASHCRYSTALRADIO (I copy-pasted this so it better be the right amount of R’s this time), which will contain live sets from each band recorded live on Paul Ivey’s WRIR show, Time Is Tight.

vvuumm has a spaced-out psychedelic sound with some punk energy underneath the surface, while HeadlessMantis mix gutbucket blues with raw garage-rock rage. Both bands are at their best in a live environment, so this tape is pretty much the ideal way to listen to them… other than going to this show, of course. You’ll also get opening sets from local stalwarts Recluse Raccoon and the man himself, Paul Ivey. This will be an entertaining afternoon from beginning to end, and with the admission price certainly being nice, and the refreshments on tap all around, you’re sure to have a lovely time. Don’t linger too long over brunch–you’ll have occasion to regret it.

Monday, August 21, 5 PM
Decapitated, Thy Art Is Murder, Fallujah, Ghost Bath, Deathsinger @ The Canal Club – $20 in advance (order tickets HERE)
I feel like every time Polish death metal legends Decapitated come to town, I write in this column about how you should go see them. And I will rationalize this fact by saying that you should go see Decapitated every time they come to town! Having originally caught my attention back in the early 2000s with incredibly sick offerings like Nihility and Organic Hallucinosis, the band has remained a favorite for me for over a decade, despite the tragic loss of their founding drummer to an auto accident and a lengthy break afterwards (for understandable reasons). This year, they’re back again with their seventh album, Anticult, which is just as full of technically precise, brutally crushing death riffs as any of their previous molten slabs. They still shred hard, they still hit the sick breakdowns as hard as possible, they still get your head banging just as hard as ever… Decapitated have stayed consistent for a very long time now, and whether their evening of rage this Monday night at Canal Club would be your first or fifth time seeing them, you are still extremely well advised to make it out.

Decapitated are joined on this bill by quite a few other heavy hitters with challenging-to-decipher logos, most importantly Aussie deathcore pounders Thy Art Is Murder. Deathcore can get a bit monotonous in less-than-capable hands, but Thy Art Is Murder distinguish themselves from the pack with distinctive riffs and plentiful tempo shifts, saving the nosebleed-inducing downtuned breakdowns until they will have the most possible effect. The show will also feature some homegrown acts from the good ol’ US of A, including Fallujah, who one assumes picked their name to evoke the brutality of the Iraq war but actually tend to have somewhat of a proggy edge if anything. Then there’s Ghost Bath, the members of which are apparently some of the very few Americans still living in North Dakota. Fitting with that state’s frozen wastelands, they have some moody black metal touches to their oddly emotional shredding. These guys are honestly my sleeper pick for the whole opening slate. VA Beach’s Deathsinger gets things going well before the sun goes down, so head over as soon as you’re off work. You don’t wanna miss a minute.

Tuesday, August 22, 6 PM
Eyehategod, Negative Approach, Suppression, Dead And Dreaming, Gritter @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance/$25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I also feel like every time New Orleans sludge legends Eyehategod come to town I end up recommending in this column that you go see them, but honestly, that’s at least somewhat due to their tendency to bring incredible touring partners with them to town. That said, Eyehategod are certainly not to be taken for granted or skipped out early on, by any means. The band’s most recent self-titled album was the last to feature founding drummer Joey LaCaze, who passed away shortly after recording the album. However, Eyehategod has remained a solid live presence in the years since, and have proved as much in their last couple of Richmond appearances. They’re still the first name in bleak, swampy sludge metal, and if you care at all about the million doom metal bands who’ve enveloped the metal scene over the past decade, you really need to give some attention to the originators.

But yeah, those touring partners. Can you believe Eyehategod comes to us this year paired with hardcore legends Negative Approach? I mean, holy crap, right? As with Eyehategod singer Mike IX Williams, Negative Approach vocalist John Brannon has remained at the top of his game for decades now. Hell, if anything this dude is angrier and scarier than he was in the 80s. Other than a Sham 69 cover on a compilation, the band hasn’t released anything new since 2010 EP Friends Of No One, but hey, who really cares? We’re all going to hear “Nothing” and “Whatever I Do” anyway, and that’s what we’re gonna get. Quit the shit, start the pit! Incredibly long-running weirdo-grind duo Suppression will also be on this show, which is a sweet score even if they are local. With openers Dead And Dreaming and Gritter further representing the double-tough hardcore and downbeat swamp metal scenes of RVA, this show is jam-packed.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers–this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [the rvamag address isn’t working for some reason, I’m looking into it!]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week 10/7-10/13

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FEATURE SHOW
Saturday, October 10, 6 PM
Richmond Zine Fest Afterparty, feat. Mostly Crying, Atta Girl, Colectivo Caliban, Yaya @ Gallery 5 – Free!
OK, yes, I partly picked this event as my featured show of the week in order to shine some light on Richmond Zine Fest.
[Read more…] about RVA Shows You Must See This Week 10/7-10/13